Ora et Labora: a Confessor's Tale
by Zoetic Aerie
Summary: Karrisan Lightstorm, alliance battle-healer and confessor. Based off my character in the lovely World of Warcraft. Original characters, so far. I own nothing, but especially don't own Blizzard or Azeroth.
1. Chapter 1

Ora et Labora: A Confessor's Tales

She woke up to the sound of the cathedral bells ringing and the feel of a cool breeze on her bare legs. Stretching her arms over her head, Karrisan Lightstorm recalled yesterday's events with a strong, strange memory. It wasn't feeling of dread that the memory stirred in her mind, but it was the first thing that entered her mind as she woke.

She encountered quite the variety of folk during her day-time work. As a Confessor of the Cathedral of Light, she had been deployed to the Stockades lately to provide some sort of repentance to the prisoners. Most of the prisoners stared at her with eyes that could only be described as dead. But yesterday's session with a man only known as "Red-Eye" would haunt her memory for some time.

After her usual morning ablutions she headed to the Cathedral for morning services. The streets of Stormwind City were bustling that morning. Karrisan smiled at the children rushing off to lessons, giggling and relishing the safety that living in the Alliance's great capital provided. Smiling, Karrisan recalled her own sheltered childhood.

Karrisan was born in the Stockades to a pock-marked member of a gang of local thieves. She knew her mother died just days after giving birth to her, but the elder priest who had raised her assured Karris that her mother was concerned for her safety and upbringing. "Her name was Solicity," the elder priest had told her when she was old enough to comprehend. "She was too far taken by disease to love you. But she repented for her crimes and sins against Mankind. Her soul had turned and she belonged to the Light. You came into this world squalling like murder and crawled your way from her stomach to her breast." Karrisan's thirteen year-old mind tried to picture herself as a baby and giggled. "Child!" the elder priest admonished, "You'd do well to thank the Light that your mother found favor with the Light after the choices she made." As she matured, Karrisan grew more curious about the elder priest's relationship with her mother. She'd try for snippets of information every so often, but the elder priest was vague and little was said about Solicity.

Karrisan had learned about the Light since an early age and assumed some of the lesser chores of the priests and priestesses as she went through her schooling. In her late teens she was sent with a branch of holy paladins and priests to the battlefront to aid her allies in combat. Karrisan enjoyed the thrill of battle and became skilled at removing diseases, plagues and other ailments. When she returned to Stormwind City she continued to serve as priestess and began to hear confessions at a regular basis. The elder priest had heard of her mastery over certain diseases and furthered her study of anatomy.

It was her skill in removing diseases, coupled with her regular duties as a confessor, which led Karrisan to her steady employment at the Stormwind Stockades.


	2. Chapter 2

That day, she was clothed in what appeared to be traveler's garb, fitted dark brown leggings and a lighter brown blouse. She learned early on that her Mooncloth Robes got easily soiled and damaged in the prison's dank and dusty halls. The close fitting outfit allowed her to travel through the prison with ease and made it easy for her to crouch down to inspect the ailments which she'd attempt to cure between hearing confessions.

As she kicked her horse into a cantor, she sat up tall in her saddle and rode smoothly across the canals. Karrisan loved riding. She'd mastered the skill during her time at the battle's front and felt most alive when she felt the wind ripping through her hair and clothes. She had tied her light brown hair back at the nape of her neck to ensure no strands would obscure her sight. The pace with which she rode, however, always shook a few delicate tendrils from her low ponytail.

She arrived early to a quiet Cathedral, quietly walked inside and approached the altar. Falling to her knees, Karrisan closed her dark blue eyes and murmured "Light, help me today. Help me to soothe the wounds, both internal and external, of the people I meet today. I remain your faithful and humble servant." Bending at her slender waist, Karrisan's lips grazed the alter cloth and she straightened herself upright – eyes still closed.

"Still trying to find that Light, eh, girl?"

Stunned at the sound of a voice, Karrisan quickly stood up and whirled around. Behind her was Melchior, a paladin whose company she served during her times at the battle front.

"This place is quite different than the makeshift chapels we erected at war," Melchior commented. "Couldn't find the Light out there, what makes you think you'll be able to find it in here?"

Karrisan's skin flushed and she tensed. "That conversation was at a different time, in a different place," she stammered. "I was trying to make sense of the plagues being hurled at our camp and thought the Light would provide me with the comfort I needed!"

Melchior smirked, crossing his arms across his broad chests. "If I recall, you found your _comfort_ in other ways." His dark brown eyes were dancing and caught hers for a moment. "The Light seemed to be the furthest thing from your mind as we rocked the steps of the chapel and…"

"Stop it, just stop it!" Karrisan cried, breaking his eye-contact.

A smile played upon Melchior's lips. "What's the matter, Karrisan? Still haven't made peace with the Light about what happened out there?"

Karrisan noticed others beginning to trickle into the Cathedral and lowered her voice, "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk to _you._ I understand it was just months ago but it seems lifetime to me! No I haven't made peace with it because you don't let me forget about it."

"Something tells me, _priestess_, that you'd not likely forget about it yourself. I wonder, in fact," he continued, edging closer to her, "Do you cry out my name when you touch yourself? Do you imagine it's my capable hands and not your frail ones? Do you.."

"Elder Priest, may the Light be with you!" Karris exclaimed, taking notice of the elder priest approaching the altar. "How might I assist in this morning's services?"

The elder priest nodded to the candles that were still unlit at the sanctuary and Karris turned on her heel, giving Melchior an angry glare as she began to light the candles with a flame, all the while trying to quell the one that was growing in her core.


End file.
